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| This is the church in Dommerby where Baadsgaard family members were married. |
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| This is the church in Lundo where Baadsgaard ancestors were baptized, married and buried. |
My son John is serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Denmark right now. Many of my husband's ancestors are from Denmark. John has recently been able to visit the places where the earliest known Baadsgaard family members lived. Here is what happened just last week.
"We drove around to a couple of the areas where my ancestors come from (Dommerby, and Lundø to be specific). At the church in Lundø, which is where my earliest known ancestors from the Baadsgaard family come from, we found 3 gravestones in the cemetery with the name Baadsgaard on them. I took those pictures, and found the people on family search, but ended up finding out that not all of their information was on family search. Because of that find, I have now added about 30-50 names to my family tree in family search. I can't tell you how strong the spirit was being able to put those names in, and reserve their temple work.
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| Baadsgaard Rock at the site of an old Baadsgaard farm in Denmark. |
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| Lots of people ask me where our unusual last name Baadsgaard came from. It is a Danish last name. Turns out it is a fairly unusual name in Denmark too. (A spelling reform in 1948 introduced the letter å, already in use in Norwegian and Swedish, into the Danish alphabet to replace the digraph aa. The old usage still occurs in some personal and geographical names.) This is a picture of my son John in front of a Baadsgaard street sign in Denmark. Vej means way.
Meaning of the Name
Baadsgaard
In Danish, "gaard" most often means farm, courtyard, or
estate, and "baad" means boat. Since aa = å, another spelling of the
name is Bådsgård.
Baadsgaard as a Place
To date one American research group has identified at least two
places in Denmark named Bådsgård in the 1700s. One is on Hanstholm (formerly an
island, now connected to the mainland) in Hansted sogn, Hillerslev herred,
Thisted amt. Political boundaries changed, and Hanstholm became part of Viborg
amt. The other Baadsgaard is in Højslev sogn, Fjends herred, Viborg amt. More
Baadsgaards may be found in Denmark and Scandinavia as research continues.
There is a cove called "Bådsgård vig" that can be found
by searching for Bådsgård on google maps.
From Wikipedia
"The northern part of Denmark is rising because of plate
tectonics, and has lifted the island of Hanstholm out of the water, so it
is no longer an island, but an elevated area. You can still see two old farms:
Bådsgård, which means boat farm, is located on the previous island Hanstholm;
Færgegård is located in Sårup towards Hansted. Today you can simply drive
between Sårup and Hansted."
"Lundø is a peninsula surrounded by Bådsgård creek to the
south, Skive Fjord on the west, and Lovns Bredning to the northeast, in the
southern part of the fjord."
Baadsgaard as a Surname
It was commonplace for a Dane to use a place name following
his/her patronymic name, and a person living at Baadsgaard might use that name
as part of his/her personal name. As traditional naming practices evolved,
"Baadsgaard" became attached to some families as a permanent family
surname. The surname is still in use, though it is rare in the USA.
Baadsgaards in the USA
Of the Baadsgaard descendants living in the USA, a rather light
investigation suggests two ancestral lines: Peder Baadsgaard (b.1677) and Søren
Andersen Pugdal (b.1659). Soren had a son named Andres (Anders) Sørensen
Baadsgaard (b. 1717). Apparently, the name Baadsgaard was used as a place name
by Anders.
It has not yet been determine if these two lines are related
somehow. Descendants of Peder can be found in Utah, Washington (the state),
Nevada, and Texas. Descendants of Soren can be found in Indiana, Illinois and
Texas.
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